Who Do You Trust?

With all the corporate scandals in the past few years, employees are less trusting and more cynical than ever before. I believe employers now have to work harder than ever to prove their trustworthiness. Here are some ways to build trust and maintain credibility:

1. Your personal life speaks volumes about who you really are. Your staff views your personal life with great scrutiny. They will listen to your phone conversations (if in earshot) to see what's going on in your personal life. They have a great curiosity about how you talk with your loved ones. Make sure how you carry yourself in this area as moral and beyond reproach to gain both trust and respect.

2. Speak the truth. The best way to chop down the grapevine before it takes deep root is to keep people informed with the truth. It's better to give bad news then to hide the truth. That also means keeping your promises. Do what you say you are going to do in the exact manner you stated you would do it.


3. Treat everyone with respect from top to bottom. That includes getting out and around, talking to employees, remembering their names and asking them questions to show you value their opinion. Sure there are some people you may not like. Does that mean they should be disrespected? If they get the job done, show them respect.

4. Enforce all the rules for everyone in a consistent manner. If you can't do this, then eliminate the rule. Different strokes for different folks won't cut it when it comes to managing your people. This creates mistrust and resentment. Be sure you don't play favorites, especially showing prejudice against people of color and other backgrounds.

5. Watch your jokes or pranks. You never know when someone will be offended by something everyone else thought was funny. This can only lower their respect for you and make them wonder what you are really like as a person.